Last season, the Morgan girls’ basketball team lost to Cromwell in the Shoreline Conference final and then beat the Panthers in the Class M semifinals en route to the championship game. This season, the roles were reversed.

The Huskies beat Cromwell for the third time this winter to take the Shoreline title last month and then the squads faced each other in the Class M State Tournament semis with a chance to play for the state title at Mohegan Sun on the line. The Huskies were down by 10 points at one juncture, yet Joe Grippo’s squad countered by going on a rally that got Morgan right back into the game. Unfortunately, when all was said and done, Cromwell came out victorious in the teams’ fourth meeting by a 52-49 score at Sheehan High School in Wallingford on March 16. The top-seeded Huskies finished their campaign with a record of 25-1 while No. 4 seed Cromwell (21-5) went on to lose to St. Joseph 50-44 in the Class M final.

Morgan held a two-point edge at 13-11 after the first quarter facing Cromwell, but struggles in the second and third quarters had the Huskies in the unfamiliar position of playing from behind. Morgan had trouble getting second-chance points as Cromwell’s size prevented Grippo’s club from getting those crucial offensive rebounds.

“The two middle quarters gave us trouble. [Cromwell’s] rebounding was key in the game,” said Grippo. “We knew that they were better at getting the boards than us and knew that it was going to be difficult. They were able to take away our extra shots after a miss.”

Morgan scored three points while allowing seven in the second to trail 18-16 at the half. In the third quarter, the Huskies scored 12 points, but gave up 20 and were facing a 10-point deficit entering the fourth. That’s when Grippo called for a defensive scheme that helped Morgan claw closer.

“We had to use press coverage to change the tempo of the game,” said Grippo. “We were able to get Cromwell uncomfortable and take unbalanced shots. We took advantage of that down our offensive end to get back in the game.”

The Huskies surged to score 21 points in the final frame while holding the Panthers to 14. With under two minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Morgan had sliced Cromwell’s lead to two at 49-47. Following a quick foul, Cromwell made two free throws to lead by four, but Huskies’ junior guard and Shoreline Conference Player of the Year Sami Ashton drove in for a lay-up to cut Morgan’s deficit to two at 51-49 with 8.5 seconds remaining.

Another quick foul sent Cromwell’s Nicole Rojas to the foul line with 6.7 seconds on the clock. After missing the first, Rojas drained the second shot for a three-point lead. Ashton then drove to the basket and passed to senior guard Tori Hopkins for a three-pointer on the top-left corner of the line off a pick-and-roll play set up by junior forward Josie Sullivan. Hopkins’s shot went in and out, the ball fell into the hands of Rojas, and the buzzer sounded while the Panthers celebrated.

“We were able to stop them and we had good look off a pick-and-roll to have chance to tie the game up,” said Grippo. “The shot didn’t fall. They’re going to Mohegan and we’re not.”

Captain Ashton finished the contest by scoring a game-high 23 points with 10 of those coming from the free throw line. She also posted four rebounds, three assists and a steal. Senior captain forward/guard Jen Dawson tallied 11 points, six rebounds, and one assist while Sullivan had eight points with six boards, one assist, and one steal. Senior captain forward/center Kelsey Donaldson added four points, three rebounds and a steal and Hopkins, also a captain, scored three to go with three assists and a steal.

Dawson, Donaldson, and Hopkins all played their final games as Huskies and made an immense impact on the program that includes an appearance in the state finals last season, along with bringing the Shoreline Conference crown back to Clinton this year.

“I knew we were good and I have a lot of respect for the teams we played on our schedule,” said Grippo. “To go 25 and 1 and not make it to Mohegan Sun, I still think we had terrific season. It was a great year and these seniors are going to be missed.”

In the four games between Morgan and Cromwell this season, the combined the margin of victory was just 10 points. Morgan won the first two regular season matchups, 51-48 and 45-42, and then prevailed 53-52 in overtime for the conference crown. Dawson led the Huskies with 22 points in the OT winner. Ashton averaged 15 points, four assists, and four steals per game against the Panthers this year.

Morgan also beat Shoreline Conference rival East Hampton and Cromwell three times this season, including two victories over the Bellringers in the postseason. Morgan’s perfect regular season included two Shoreline Conference wins against North Branford, Haddam-Killingworth, Valley Regional, and Coginchaug with one versus Portland, Hyde, Hale-Ray, Old Saybrook, Westbrook, and Old Lyme. The Huskies also won against non-conference opponents Bunnell, Ledyard, and Notre Dame-Fairfield in the regular season and beat Platt Tech and Plainfield in the first two rounds of states. Morgan’s highest point total in a game was achieved twice when the Huskies defeated Old Lyme 87-39 on Feb. 7 and Platt Tech 87-24 on March 4. The Huskies finished the season undefeated at home (12-0) and on the road (11-0).

Earlier in the tournament, the first and second rounds seemed easy for Morgan as the Huskies handled Platt Tech and Plainfield. Grippo’s squad then saw a vision of déjà vu as it entered the quarterfinals facing a familiar opponent in East Hampton that had held Morgan to some low scoring totals, including in the Shoreline Conference semifinals. But for the third time this season, the Huskies pulled off a victory against their conference foe by defeating the ninth-seeded Bellringers 43-32 in Clinton on March 10 to advance to the semifinals.

The win marked the third time that Morgan defeated East Hampton this year and all three victories came by 11 points. The first meeting was a regular season matchup and a 39-28 victory for the Huskies on the road on Jan. 6. The second meeting happened in the Shoreline Conference semis at Coginchaug and Morgan won by the same score.

“We knew their strengths and weaknesses, they knew our strengths and weaknesses. It’s never easy beating a team three times,” said Grippo. “Oddly enough, each game we won by 11, but they held their own against us. Give credit to their defense. They played well against us.”

Morgan held small leads after each period. The Huskies led 13-10 after the first, 24-17 at the half, 30-25 after three, and then finished with the 11-point margin of victory.

Sullivan had team-high 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists two steals and one block; Dawson had eight points, five assists and one steal; and Donaldson and Ashton each scored seven points with Ashton adding six assists and two steals. Hopkins had five points, five assists, and two steals and Riley Thompson added six points with two rebounds.